How long do you need to work somewhere to collect unemployment in NY?
I'm trying to figure out the work requirements for filing an unemployment claim in New York. My sister told me you need to work at least 6 months but I've heard different things from other people. I was laid off from my warehouse job last month after working there for about 8 months, but before that I had a retail job for only 3 months. Does NYS Department of Labor look at your total work time or does it have to be consecutive at one employer? Really confused about the base period stuff and whether I even qualify.
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Fatima Al-Maktoum
The NYS Department of Labor doesn't require a specific length of time at one job. What matters is your total earnings during the base period, which is usually the first 4 quarters of the last 5 completed quarters before you file. You need sufficient wages in at least 2 quarters and your total base period wages must be at least 1.5 times your highest quarter wages. Both your warehouse and retail jobs would count toward this calculation.
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Giovanni Rossi
•Thanks! So it's about total earnings across different jobs, not staying at one place for a certain amount of time? That's a relief because I was worried the short retail stint would hurt me.
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Dylan Mitchell
yeah i think you just need to have worked enough to meet the wage requirements. i was only at my last job for like 4 months but still got approved because i had other work earlier in the year
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Sofia Gutierrez
The key thing is your wage credits during the base period. If you made decent money at both jobs, you should be fine. The NYS Department of Labor will calculate this automatically when you file your claim. You can also use their benefit calculator on the my.ny.gov website to get an estimate before filing.
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Giovanni Rossi
•I'll definitely check out that calculator. Do you know if there's a minimum dollar amount you need to have earned total?
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Dmitry Petrov
I was in a similar situation last year - worked at a restaurant for 5 months then got a factory job for 7 months before getting laid off. I was worried about not having enough work history but my claim got approved pretty quickly. The NYS Department of Labor just looks at whether you have enough wage credits from all your covered employment during the base period.
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StarSurfer
If you're having trouble reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor to verify your eligibility, I had good luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you get through to an actual agent instead of waiting on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me time when I needed to check on my claim status.
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Giovanni Rossi
•Interesting, I might need that if I run into issues filing. The phone lines are always so busy.
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Ava Martinez
Just want to add that even if you technically qualify based on wages, you still need to meet the other requirements like being able and available for work and actively looking for a job. But sounds like your work history should be fine for the wage requirement part.
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QuantumQuester
I went through this same confusion when I got laid off from my construction job after 10 months. What helped me understand it was that NY uses something called the "alternate base period" if you don't qualify under the standard one. So even if your recent work doesn't add up to enough, they might look at a different time frame that includes more of your work history. The important thing is to just file your claim - they'll do all the calculations for you and let you know if you qualify. Worst case, you find out you don't qualify, but at least you'll know for sure instead of wondering.
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